A virtual environment is an interactive simulated environment accessed by multiple users through an online interface. Users inhabit and interact in the virtual environment via avatars, which are two or three-dimensional graphical representations of humanoids. There are many different types of virtual environments, however there are several features many virtual environments generally have in common:
A) Shared Space: the world allows many users to participate at once.
B) Graphical User Interface: the environment depicts space visually, ranging in style from 2D “cartoon” imagery to more immersive 3D environments.
C) Immediacy: interaction takes place in real time.
D) Interactivity: the environment allows users to alter, develop, build, or submit customized content.
E) Persistence: the environment's existence continues regardless of whether individual users are logged in.
F) Socialization/Community: the environment allows and encourages the formation of social groups such as teams, guilds, clubs, cliques, housemates, neighborhoods, etc.
An avatar can have a wide range of business and social experiences. Such business and social experiences are becoming more common and increasingly important in on-line virtual environments (e.g., universes, worlds, etc.), such as that provided in the on-line world Second Life (Second Life is a trademark of Linden Research in the United States, other countries, or both). The Second Life client program provides its users (referred to as residents) with tools to view, navigate, and modify the Second Life world and participate in it's virtual economy.
Second Life and other on-line virtual environments present a tremendous new outlet for both structured and unstructured virtual collaboration, gaming and exploration, as well as real-life simulations in virtual spaces. These activities, along with yet to be disclosed new dimensions, in turn provide a wide open arena for creative and new communication methods and mechanisms.
Virtual environments have become more complex as processing power, memory storage, and bandwidth have increased, and opportunities for multi-avatar events, such as business meetings, lectures, and social gatherings, have increased. In such cases, where many avatars are in the same location, it is easy for an avatar to be overwhelmed with communication from multiple other avatars. As processors increase in capability, the simulation engines running any given region in a virtual environment will become able to accommodate larger and larger numbers of avatars in a gathering. Further, voice communication is becoming increasingly prevalent in virtual environments. Traditionally, textual communication between avatars is presented in a similar manner, while voice is projected at a constant volume.